The internet marketing gurus have been pounding the ears of anybody who'll listen for quite a while now regarding the importance of having a "sticky web site". Such a site is one that visitors feel obliged to explore, rather than bouncing off the home page in the first couple of seconds and surfing elsewhere. In other words, it's a site that holds people's attention - and this is an objective that is as worthy of a speaker, as it is a web site designer.

It's my belief - based on observation and the monitoring of my own personal ‘SOB' (state of boredom) - that that there simply isn't enough "sticky speaking" going on in the world today. Generally speaking, the average audience member nowadays has more messages competing for his or her attention than they did 30 years ago. If you can't initially grasp - and then hold - that person's attention, all is lost. Time and again I experience presenters who either fail to grab my attention in the first place, or fail to strike up a relationship with me that stands the test of time. The cry of "content is king" belongs to yesterday's battle. True, you have to have it, but content alone is no longer a "necessary and sufficient condition", it's been down-graded to "necessary". Tomorrow's race belongs to those who first win attention and then follow-through with outstanding content.

There are two main elements to sticky speaking:

1. Grabbing attention, and then

2. Holding it.

Grabbing Attention
If you are presenting information on stage in front of an audience, then you better make it entertaining, otherwise the audience may as well go an buy the book, (which, by the way, they can do at a substantial discount on-line anyway). If they have gone to the bother of coming to see you, then it's your duty to put on a show and entertain them. Beyond entertainment, it's important that you illustrate clearly what return on investment people can expect if they decide to work with you. I believe these two elements - entertainment and ROI - will become increasingly important for professional speakers and business owners when addressing audiences of prospective clients.

Holding Attention
I believe many speakers and business owners miss out on substantial revenue opportunities by focusing exclusively on the ‘here and now' - for example, "How big a fee can I negotiate for this sales-training course?" If you make it clear that you'll be with your client for the long-haul and are prepared to link your success to his or her success, you stand to benefit in three ways:

1. Increased revenue from repeat business.
2. Better quality testimonials from your clients, because they'll be able to link their improved business success directly to your assistance. For example, which is the more powerful testimonial, "John gave a great presentation and really inspired the staff", or "With Mary's assistance we were able to increase our sales by 25% in nine months"?
3. The increased probability that your client will make the mental shift from being a ‘happy client' to being an ambassador - someone who automatically refers you to his or her network because they intrinsically believe in the value of what you bring to the party.

In summary, it's my belief that the world has changed forever. Clients no longer want you to just to stand on stage, say your piece and then ride off into the sunset. They expect more from you nowadays, so find ways of helping them. For example, give them all accounts on your web site, where they can find updated information over the coming months. This helps establish you as an expert, while at the same time providing valuable information to your clients. Why not go back after three months and review your last project to assess the return on investment? You might be surprised at just how high some ROI's can turn out to be and it's a wonderful way of demonstrating added value.